Reinstated CSPA Protected Derivative Immigrant Visa for Iranian National Approved at US Consulate in Ankara

This case was a complicated one— a CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) protected derivative of an immigrant visa reinstated for humanitarian reasons was finally issued his visa at the US Consulate in Ankara and entered the USA as a lawful permanent resident. Congratulations to our client!

This case had many turns. The beneficiary was the F4 derivative beneficiary of a sibling petition (his father was petitioned by his US citizen brother, so therefore the derivative beneficiary’s US citizen Uncle) that was initially interviewed in Ankara in early January 2017 (there are no US Embassies or Consulates in Iran, so Iranian nationals must travel to nearby countries to consular process). Everything was approvable— but just before the visa was issued, the Muslim travel ban instituted by the first Trump administration tragically stopped that. In 2020, a waiver was finally granted— but then, again before the visa could be issued, the US citizen petitioner tragically died. If a petitioner dies before the beneficiary obtains permanent residence, the petition is automatically revoked by operation of law. Nearly 16 years of waiting and hoping appeared to suddenly end all over again,.

The family then contacted me & I told them about the possibility of humanitarian reinstatement. Humanitarian reinstatement is a request to the USCIS to substitute the initial petitioner who has died for a substitute US citizen family member who can serve as a petitioner. It is a discretionary act and you need to persuade the USCIS that there are humanitarian reasons for this. We showed the hardship that this lengthy separation created for this family’s unity as well as the fact that the separation was needlessly years longer due to a patently discriminatory travel ban. This request was ultimately approved in 2023 and another US citizen brother became the substitute petitioner.

The family continued the remainder of consular processing on their own and the principal beneficiary father obtained his green card. The derivative beneficiary, who is now in his 30s but was under 21 at the time the visa was initially ready and therefore protected from aging-out by the child status protection act (CSPA), was subject to about another year of administrative processing for background checks. He just informed me that his immigrant visa was finally issued and he has entered the USA as a lawful permanent resident. I am very happy for him.

This case shows both how astoundingly complicated an immigration case can become due to the myriad of changes that undoubtedly happen due to long processing times, as well as the tremendous hardships that families face going through the immigration process. At the same time, this shows that even when you think there isn’t any chance to come to the United States, with perseverance it might still happen! I have more than a decade representing individuals in family based immigration. Don’t hesitate to contact me for a consultation at amir@rasoulpourlaw.com.